Tulips(郁金香) are the national flower of Iran and Turkey. The European name for the flower is a misuse of the Persian word for turban(头巾), a mistake probably arising in the common Turkish custom of wearing flowers in the folds of the turban. Alternatively, the misuse may have arisen because this eastern flower, when not yet in full bloom, looks like a turban. In Persia, to give a red tulip was to declare your love for someone. The black center of the red tulip was said to represent the lover's heart, burned to a coal by love's passion.

    Originally growing in the Ottoman Empire (present-day Turkey), tulips were imported into Holland in the sixteenth century. When Carolus Clusius wrote the first major book on tulips in 1592, they became so popular that the tulips in his garden were stolen from time to time. As the Dutch Golden Age grew, so did this colorful flower. They were commonly seen in paintings and at festivals. In the mid-seventeenth century, tulips even created the first economics bubble（泡沫经济）, known as "Tulip Mania". At that time, tulips were so expensive that they were used as money until the market for them crashed.

    Today, Holland is still known for its tulips and other flowers, often sincerely called "the flower shop of the world." Tulips are planted in great fields of beautiful color, and transform the landscape into a sea of different colors. Tulip festivals are held throughout the country in spring. However, the most well-known tulip festival is organized in the Noordoostpolder, a province in the central Netherlands, each year. Held in the middle of the tulip fields, this flower festival runs from late April to early May. The Dutch people took their love of tulips abroad when they settled, and tulips and tulip festivals are now found in New York and Michigan, where the connection to their Dutch roots is still very strong.

    Sometimes people call each other “scared-cat”. But have you ever thought about this expression? When a cat is frightened, its heart starts beating faster, its muscles get tense, and there are changes in the chemicals in its blood stream. Although the cat doesn't realize this, its body is getting ready for action. If the danger continues, the animal will do one of two things .It will protect itself, or it will run away as fast as it can.

    Something like this also happens to people. When we are excited, angry or seared by other feelings, our bodies go through many physical changes. Our hearts beat faster, and our muscles get tense. All of these changes make us more alert and ready to react. We, too, get ready to defend ourselves or run.

    Human beings, however, have a problem that animals never face. If we give way to our feelings and let them take over, we can get into trouble. Have you ever said something in anger or hit somebody and regretted it later? Have you ever shouted at a teacher, told someone you were lonely, or said you were in love, and then wished later you had kept your mouth shut? It isn't always clever to express your feelings freely.

    Does this mean that it's smarter always to hide our feelings? No! If you keep feelings of anger, sadness hidden away or bottled up inside, your body stays tense. Physical illnesses can develop, and you can feel disturbed badly inside. It can actually be bad for your health. It isn't good to keep pleasant feelings inside either; all feelings need to be expressed.

    Feelings that you keep all bottled up inside, don't just go away. It's as if you bought some bananas and put them in a cupboard. You might not be able to see them, but before you'd smell them. And if you opened the cupboard, chances are that you'd see little fruit flies flying all over them. They are bad.

    You can try to treat feelings as if they were bananas in the cupboard. You can hide them and you can pretend they don't exist, but they'll still be around. And at last you'll have to deal with them, just like those bananas.

    People and animals often enjoy loving relationships with each other. When people adopt domesticated (家养的) animals into their families as pets, animals give humans the blessings of companionship and fun in return. In the wild, animals sometimes carry out dramatic rescues of people in dangerous situations, miraculously (奇迹般地) sensing human needs and jumping in without fear to help.

    In 2000, a 6-year-old boy unified Elian Gonzalez left Cuba on a boat bound for Florida in the United States, but the boat sank and everyone aboard drowned except Elian and two adults. Elian and the other two survivors held onto inner tube for 48 hours to try to stay afloat in the sea. After a while, however, Elian began to lose strength, slipping under the water and then grabbing the tube again as he fought to stay alive.

    A small group of dolphins noticed Elian struggling and swan over to him to help. The dolphins formed a circle around the inner tube and took turns using their noses to lift Elian until fishermen working in the area discovered and rescued Elian and the two adults who floated nearby. The fishermen reported that, when they discovered Elian, he was repeating a prayer that his mother had taught him before drowning, asking guardian angels to protect him.

    Miraculously, the dolphins knew that a child would need more help than adults, so they focused on Elian — and they figured out exactly what needed to be done and cooperated to carry out that plan successfully. They made it!

    Everything has a name. All people, places and things have names. For example, Jenny is the name of a student from England. England is the name of her country. Cities and towns have names, too. Schools and office building also have names. All things have names. Names are important.

    Names are different all over the world. In Jenny's class, Jenny must learn the names of students from all over the world. This is very difficult because the names are different.

    In the USA, most people have a first name, a middle name, and a last name. Parents choose the first and middle names for their baby. There are names for boys and names for girls. For example, John, Peter, Tom and Mike are all names for boys. Elizabeth, Betty, Susan, and Mary are all names for girls. The last name is the family name. Usually it is the father's family name. In a family, the mother, the father, and the children usually have the same last name.

    Names are different all over the world. They can be long or short, but they are always very important.

    If you are looking for the place that has everything, there is only one place to visit, and that's New York. It's a whole world in a city.

    The World of Theater: All of New York is a stage. And it begins with Broadway. Where else can you find so many hit shows in one place? Only in New York!

    The World of Music: Spend an evening with Beethoven at Lincoln Center. Swing to the great jazz of Greenwich Village. Or rock yourself silly at the hottest dance spots found anywhere.

    The World of Art: From Rembrandt to Picasso. From Egyptian tombs to Indian teepees. Whatever kind of art you like, you will find it in New York.

    The World of Fine Dining: Whether it's roast Beijing duck in Chinatown, lasagna in little Italy, or the finest French coq au vin found everywhere, there is world of great taste waiting for you in New York.

    The World of Sights: What other city has a Statue (雕塑) of Liberty? A Rockefeller Center? Or a Bronx Zoo? Where else can you take a horse-drawn carriage through Central Park? Only in New York!

    You may probably meet most of the powerful graduation speakers, here who are well-known people in their fields. I think the schools couldn't have picked better speakers than them, because they set good examples, deeply inspiring us in our daily life.

    1) Steve Jobs, Stanford University:

    "Remembering you're going to die, and the best way I know is to avoid the trap of thinking that you have something to lose. There is no reason not to follow your heart. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice... "

    2) Oprah Winfrey, Stanford University:

    "I consider the world, this Earth, to be like a school... And the secret I've learned to get ahead is being open to the lessons from the grandest universe of all. Don't react against a bad situation. And the solution will arise from the challenge. So don't give up easily, acting with responsibility... "

    3) Bono, University of Pennsylvania:

    "For four years you've been buying, trading, and selling everything you've got in this market-place of ideas. Your pockets are full, even if your parents' are empty, and now you've got to figure out what to spend it on... The world is more flexible than you think and it's waiting for you to hammer it into shape... "

    4) Michael Dell, University of Texas at Austin:

    "Now it's time for you to move on to what's next and obtain your desire. But you must not let anything prevent you from taking those first steps. Don't spend so much time trying to choose the perfect opportunity, or sometimes you'll miss the right opportunity. Recognize that there will be failures and obstacles. But you will learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others."